A New Man
by Miles333
Summary: Missing scene from TEoT P2. On Pete's World, the Doctor's clone is still connected to the Doctor. And after feeling so many hardening emotions over time, he wasn't surprised to feel the burn of regeneration. Rose was, especially when he collapsed. TenRose


**Disclaimer:** _Doctor Who_ doesn't belong to me. It used to belong to the highly creative RTD, along with the BBC, but now the show rests in the hands of Steven Moffat… O.O

**A/N:** I _really_ wish this missing scene had actually been in the episode, or better yet, that the Doctor had burnt up another sun to say goodbye to both Rose and his clone. But, alas, it was not meant to be. Well, I guess that's what fan fiction is for! :D Oh, and I'm just going to refer to 10.5 as 'the Doctor', since he basically _is_ the Doctor. Just so all of you know. ;P

**Summary:** Missing scene from TEoT P2. On Pete's World, the Doctor's clone is still connected to the Doctor. And after feeling so many hardening emotions over time, he wasn't surprised to feel the burn of regeneration. Rose was, especially when he collapsed. TenRose

**Spoilers:** _Journey's End_, _The End of Time Part Two._

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"Thank _God_ that Dad's decided to take Mum out for dinner tonight," Rose said as she strode into the living area, where her fiancé was sitting in front of a blazing fire. She had just come down the stairs from tucking Tony into bed, and _that_ had been a long ordeal. The nearly-eight-year-old wasn't too fond of his bedtimes, and tended to demand long reading sessions from his favorite book before finally drifting off.

Sitting down beside the Doctor and curling her legs up underneath her, she leaned playfully against his arm. "She's been goin' on about the colors I picked out for the bridesmaid dresses for _ages_. And when you came home from work today sayin' you wanted to elope, I think that was the last straw." Rose traced the Doctor's face with one hand, and he finally looked up from the large and dusty tome that he had been reading.

"It seemed like a good enough idea to me," the Doctor said. "I'm not looking forward to all this; it's so _domestic_. And besides, Matt told me that lots of humans end up eloping."

"You _are_ human," Rose corrected him with a sad smile, thoughts of the _real_ Doctor hammering through her skull. What was he doing right now? Did he still have Donna, or had he already gotten a new companion? And did he still remember _her_? "And I really am goin' to have to keep you away from Matt; you're too impressionable." She grinned cheekily at him as these depressing thoughts slowly began fading away again. They always did. It was hard to remember that this Doctor wasn't the same one she had fallen in love with, when they were nearly identical.

"Matt likes to come down to the vault when I'm cataloging. I can't exactly stop him."

Rose laughed. "I think he really likes you. Matt, I mean. He doesn't know anythin' but the cover story Dad made up for the public, but he still seems interested."

The Doctor looked aghast, an obvious bit of Donna in his next words. "Is he…gay?"

"_No_!" Rose exclaimed, mock-punching him in the arm. "I _meant_, I think he'd really like to be friends with you. He's not as smart as you, of _course_, but he has a real interest in the artifacts. But you're too busy muckin' about down there in that dark dungeon to even notice."

The Doctor looked considering. "Maybe I'll talk to Pete. I really could use an assistant, and Matt is only in charge of coffee. Surely he has some free time he could spare me."

She grinned approvingly at him, then leaned forward and brushed an arousing kiss across his cheek. "That's the spirit! Now, if you're not too busy reading, I had a few things in mind that we could be doin' while Mum and Dad are away. And don't forget, Tony's tucked safely away in bed upstairs…"

The Doctor slammed his book closed and tossed it carelessly aside. It landed with a loud thud behind the couch while he awkwardly cleared his throat. "You know, I think I like the sound of your plans, from what I've heard of them," he decided brightly.

"Good. Now, shall we retire upstairs, Doctor?" Rose asked impishly, brushing another kiss across his cheek that made him shudder.

But before the Doctor could answer, a burst of agony exploded through his mind. He gasped, eyes widening with pain, and crumpled to the carpet. Vaguely, he heard the sound of Rose shouting his name, and felt her shaking his arm. But these blurred feelings faded slowly away, and a fuzzy scene formed before his watering eyes.

_Pain pain so much pain Wilfred shouting his name radiation destroying his flesh knowing that it was too late he could do so much more it wasn't fair he would never see Donna Martha Rose Jack again so much pain burning horrible burning it wasn't fair the Time Lords were defeated the Master was gone for good he was dying for a human why hadn't he just let Wilfred die Rose screaming_

The Doctor choked, surging back into awareness as his eyes flew open once more. Rose was leaning over him, tears sparkling in her beautiful eyes as she roughly shook him and yelled his name. "I'm okay, I'm okay," he gasped out, pushing at her flailing hands and trying in vain to get her to stop shaking him so hard.

"Doctor! Oh my God, Doctor! Are you all right? You were screamin', and you wouldn't respond to me, and I thought…I thought you were going to _die_!" Rose cried, pulling back from him and hurriedly wiping at her eyes. Mascara smeared beneath her eyes, though making her no less perfect in the Doctor's mind.

The Doctor rubbed his forehead with one hand, slowly dragging himself into a sitting position and propping himself up against the couch. He raised a shaking hand to his hair, trying to smooth it back out of his eyes. As he performed this gesture, he inhaled an unsteady breath.

Rose curled up beside him, grabbing his free hand between both of hers. "Doctor, what happened?" she asked quietly, swallowing hard as she tried to stay brave.

"I…I don't know," he said awkwardly, clearing his throat when his voice came out sounding unnaturally thick. _It's happened, _he realized mentally, thoughts feeling strangely sluggish. _It's really happened. The Doctor…he's regenerating._

"Don't give me that," she said sharply, awareness brimming in her gaze. "Tell me _the truth_."

The Doctor blinked, trying to make words come out of his numb lips. He could still feel the radiation destroying his body, though it wasn't really _his_ body. But his connection to the other Doctor was still strong, strong enough that he could feel his other self's agony.

Rose made an impatient sound, and he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be telling her why he had been writhing in agony on the carpet. "I…the Doctor," he said heavily. "He's…I thought I felt…him _regenerating_." He swallowed hard, barely managing to choke out the final word.

She gasped, both hands flying to cover her mouth. A look of horror covered her pretty features, and the Doctor instantly regretted his thoughtless words.

"Well, I could have been wrong, though. Blimey. Um…do you still want to go upstairs?" he joked weakly.

"He's…regenerated?" she whispered.

"Um, I'm not sure. I doubt it, though. I can still kind of feel him, just a little bit." He pulled a comical face, trying to seem confident. "Maybe he was just stabbed with a spear or something. Or maybe Jack was after him, and he barely managed to get away in time." He grinned feebly, noting that Rose didn't comment on any of his monologue.

"Doctor, wh-what did you see?" she breathed, a single tear trickling down her cheek as she slowly removed her hands.

"It wasn't really something I _saw_. It was more of something I _felt_ and _heard_," he elaborated warily.

"Tell me," she murmured, throat working as she swallowed hard. She couldn't look away from him, as though he were already starting to speak.

The Doctor cleared his throat nervously, recalling the sensations he had felt. It seemed to him like he was intruding on his other self's personal life, but he wasn't about to refuse Rose's command. "Well, there was Wilfred shouting," he began slowly. And I…_he_ was thinking how he would never, er, see his companions again. Including you. And then something about Time Lords and the Master." He paused, wondering if he should leave off the last part, but finally decided that he shouldn't. "And pain. Lots of pain. I…he was dying, or so I gathered from the situation, to save Wilfred Mott."

"Oh, God," Rose whispered, slowly inhaling a deep breath through slightly parted lips. "Then he's…gone?"

"I'm not sure," the Doctor said quickly, trying to reassure her. "I can still feel this faint…buzz, for lack of a better word. We're still connected, which I'm pretty sure wouldn't be the case if he had regenerated."

Rose visibly relaxed, taking another deep breath. "So he's not…?"

But before he could answer, everything once again faded before his eyes. The Doctor vaguely felt his body hit the carpet again, then he was once more immersed back into agony and white noise. The feelings and sounds of a dying man.

_Still in so much pain Rose didn't recognize him all alone so alone why didn't she recognize him even though they hadn't met yet so irrational but he felt so horrible more pain can't go on snow cold on his face and exposed skin Ood singing just enough strength to go on thinking of Rose she's still alive and well with his other self and Martha has Mickey and Donna and Wilf and Sylvia have each other and Jack has Alonzo everyone will be okay opening the TARDIS door staggering to the console white hot agony I don't want to go the regeneration is starting so much pain the building energy explodes agony as his body begins to change I don't want to go oh Rose never forget me and be safe why do I have to change oh please be ginger_

And then he was awake to the real world again, gasping wordlessly for oxygen. He was lying on his side, half of his face pressed to the scratchy carpet, and Rose knelt beside him. Fresh tears stained her face as she helped him sit up again, then she simply looked at him, staying silent.

"It's over," he managed to say, still trying to get his breath back. His lungs were aching like he'd just run a thousand miles on Mars, and he couldn't stop shaking. "He...regenerated. He's a new man now."

Rose let out a small whimper, pressing both hands to her mouth to cut it off again. She didn't resist as the Doctor wrapped both arms around her, trying to stop himself from shaking. She placed her head against his chest and inhaled unevenly. "It's all right. You've still got me," he breathed into her ear. "And I'm not going anywhere, Rose Tyler."

They stayed that way for quite some time, staring into the flames crackling in the fireplace and sitting in each other's company. After Rose's quiet tears had finally stopped, the Doctor gently pulled away and looked wordlessly at her. She turned her tearstained face towards him, wiping at the black streaks of mascara that tainted her cheeks. "Doctor?" she asked softly.

"What is it, Rose?" He couldn't help the fear that came to life inside him, that she would want to leave him now that _he_ was no more. He swallowed hard, throat working with the nervous motion.

Rose bit her lip, making it seem like she was about to start crying again. It was a surprise for the Doctor when she instead asked, "Was he ginger?"

The Doctor pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. This action seemed inappropriate for the current situation. "I…don't know. I don't think so," he told her seriously.

She gave a small laugh that was somewhere between a cough and a hiccup, then finished wiping at the mess of mascara on her face. She stood, then offered a hand to the man still sitting before her. He looked at her with some surprise. "Still want to go upstairs?" she asked, smiling slightly. "It's our last chance to have a good time before Mum and Dad get back, after all."

The Doctor's brow furrowed with concern. "Are you–"

"Sure that I still want to marry you? Yes," she told him, beautiful eyes sparkling with tears again. "I love you, Doctor. Now let's go."

The Doctor took her hand and let her pull him to his feet, then pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I love you too, Rose Tyler. Oh, that's _so_ domestic," he groaned to himself.

She gave another weak laugh, then took him by the hand and pulled him towards the staircase.

And in the parallel universe, the real Doctor lived on. He wasn't ginger, and his hair was a bit too long for his liking, but he was pleased to have both legs and that he wasn't a girl. He was a new man, and he was _more_ than ready to explore the universe.

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Please review and tell me if you liked this story or not! :D Sorry if the ending was kind of…cheesy. ^^;


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